If you saw the book on a shelf, having never heard of it before, would you be unsure which of the meanings you were supposed to interpret the title as? Or would it be clear which one was unintentional? Would the double meaning be embarrassing for the people involved in making the book? Could it lead to people thinking that the book was about something it wasn't? Had a message opposite to that intended? Is it a fiction book? Non-fiction? Could the ambiguity be seen as funny?

Posted on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - 11:57 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Is the book about politics? no religion? yes economics? no physics? no biology? no ethics? yesish or yopeWas the book published in the US? yes UK? europe? asia? africa? S. America? Australia?As far as I know, it was published only in the USLynne (Lynne) New member Username: Lynne

Posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 1:40 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) If you saw the book on a shelf, having never heard of it before, would you be unsure which of the meanings you were supposed to interpret the title as?see next answer Or would it be clear which one was unintentional? one would be more likely but not certainWould the double meaning be embarrassing for the people involved in making the book? yesCould it lead to people thinking that the book was about something it wasn't?yes Had a message opposite to that intended? yesIs it a fiction book? noNon-fiction? yesCould the ambiguity be seen as funny? yes

Was the book anti-religious? Letter to a Christian Nation? The End of Faith? God is not Great? Was the person who wrote the book an atheist? Christian? Does the intended interpretation of the title imply that God exists? that he doesn't? something specific about God? With the unintended interpretation of the title, would the book still be about religion? Is the whole title of the book relevant? A subtitle?

Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 11:50 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Was the book anti-religious? no Letter to a Christian Nation? no The End of Faith? no God is not Great? noWas the person who wrote the book an atheist? no Christian? yesDoes the intended interpretation of the title imply that God exists? no that he doesn't? no something specific about God? yopeWith the unintended interpretation of the title, would the book still be about religion? yesIs the whole title of the book relevant? yes A subtitle? no

Does the book title contain the word "God"? "Jesus"? "Christian"? Does the book refer to some particular religious issue? Does the unintended title imply something that Christians in general don't believe? That the author of the book doesn't believe? Is the author a Christian fundamentalist? a creationist? a liberal Christian?

Posted on Saturday, October 27, 2007 - 2:54 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Does the book title contain the word "God"? "Jesus"? "Christian"? None of theseDoes the book refer to some particular religious issue? Does the unintended title imply something that Christians in general don't believe? noThat the author of the book doesn't believe? noIs the author a Christian fundamentalist? a creationist? liberal Christian? The puzzle would work with any of these. The acual book is an edited collection woith asn overall conservative tone

...the existence/nonexistence of God? ...the relationship of God to human beings? ...how human beings should treat God? ...the effects of religion on society? ...what religion tells us about how we should live our lives? ...public policy relating to religion? prayer in schools? displaying the Ten Commandments? the Pledge of Allegiance?

Did the unintended meaning have to do with...

...the existence/nonexistence of God? ...the relationship of God to human beings? ...how human beings should treat God? ...the effects of religion on society? ...what religion tells us about how we should live our lives? ...public policy relating to religion? prayer in schools? displaying the Ten Commandments? the Pledge of Allegiance?

BLOOOOOOOOOOPERETTE ALERTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!I checked & found that this collection is not exclusively Christian. A few of the articles deal with Islam or Judaism. This doesn't affect the puzzle, though.

...the existence/nonexistence of God?no...the relationship of God to human beings? noish...how human beings should treat God? yope...the effects of religion on society? yesish...what religion tells us about how we should live our lives? yesish...public policy relating to religion? noish prayer in schools? no displaying the Ten Commandments? no the Pledge of Allegiance? no

Did the unintended meaning have to do with...

...the existence/nonexistence of God?yesish...the relationship of God to human beings? yes...how human beings should treat God? yes...the effects of religion on society? no...what religion tells us about how we should live our lives? noish...public policy relating to religion? no prayer in schools? displaying the Ten Commandments? nothe Pledge of Allegiance? no

Could the unintended title have been a book written by a Christian? Does the word "church" feature in the title? Is the ambiguity based on a single word? Or is there more than one word which has to be reinterpreted to get the unintended title?

Posted on Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 4:58 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Could the unintended title have been a book written by a Christian?Yes. In fact the edotor is Christian,m as are most of the contributorsDoes the word "church" feature in the title? noIs the ambiguity based on a single word? no Or is there more than one word which has to be reinterpreted to get the unintended title?yes

Sorry, I meant: could the unintended meaning of the title have been the intended title of a book written by a Christian? by an atheist? Was the title of the book a question? Did all the essays have roughly the same topic?

Posted on Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 6:00 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Sorry, I meant: could the unintended meaning of the title have been the intended title of a book written by a Christian? possibly but unlikely by an atheist? yesWas the title of the book a question? no Did all the essays have roughly the same topic? similar enough for the title to be appropriate for all

...religion has made humans behave better? worse? in general? or in one particular area? ...people aren't following the tenets of the religion they claim to subscribe to? and if they did, that would be better? worse? ...humans should worship God more? Less? In a different way? ...religious stories contain good morals? Bad morals?

...religion has made humans behave better? no worse? no in general? noor in one particular area? no...people aren't following the tenets of the religion they claim to subscribe to? no and if they did, that would be better? no worse? no...humans should worship God more? no Less? noIn a different way? no...religious stories contain good morals? no Bad morals? no

Did the unintended meaning say that...

...God does not exist? yope...God may exist, but doesn't intervene in the lives of humans? noish...humans shouldn't worship God? yope...God is malevolent? no inept? no dishonest? no...religious stories contain good morals? no bad morals? no

Does the title contain...

...the word "religion"? no"morality"? "society"? no...an individual word that has two different meanings? see next answer More than one of these words? a 2-word phrase of this sort...A misplaced modifier? no

The difference between the intended and unintended interpretation:

Is it the meanings of any of the individual words (e.g. "He lost 10 pounds" which could refer to money or weight)? see above

Or is it just the was the sentence is parsed (e.g. the two meanings of "He loves chocolate more than his wife")? no

Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 5:08 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Were these two words the only words in the title? no Are the two words a common saying? Both senses of the phrase are common

Does the intended meaning imply a certain philosophical position? Or is it something more general like "The Question of Evil", where authors with different viewpoints could write articles under the same title? Is the two-word phrase ever used outside of a religious context?

Posted on Friday, November 02, 2007 - 1:53 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Does the intended meaning imply a certain philosophical position? yesish Or is it something more general like "The Question of Evil", where authors with different viewpoints could write articles under the same title? noish--if we mean the intended meaningIs the two-word phrase ever used outside of a religious context? yes, both senses of it are

Is the book aimed at children? at educators? Was it a textbook? a book aimed at university students? could you find the book in a general purpose bookshop? Does the unintended meaning imply a certain philosophical position? Or it more general, allowing essays on either side of an argument? I'm thinking it might accidentally imply that it is calling into question whatever position it is that the intended meaning is supposed to be in support of - is this correct? Or does it actually imply that the opposite position on the question?

Posted on Wednesday, November 07, 2007 - 11:23 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Is the book aimed at children? no at educators? yesish Was it a textbook? no a book aimed at university students? yesish could you find the book in a general purpose bookshop? unlikelyDoes the unintended meaning imply a certain philosophical position? yesish Or it more general, allowing essays on either side of an argument? noish I'm thinking it might accidentally imply that it is calling into question whatever position it is that the intended meaning is supposed to be in support of - is this correct? see next answer Or does it actually imply that the opposite position on the question? this is closer

Aimed at university students... grad students? undergrads? researchers? students of philosophy? of theology? history? science? religion? mathematics? french? sports science? education? Is the book expensive? (basically... is it textbook prices rather than the prices you normally pay for a book in the shops?) Was the book about how to teach religion? How to teach about religion? about whether teaching religion to children is acceptable?

Posted on Thursday, November 08, 2007 - 12:08 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Aimed at university students... grad students? partly undergrads? ditto researchers? ditto students of philosophy? no of theology? possibly history? no science? no religion? yesmathematics? no french? no sports no science? no education? yesIs the book expensive? (basically... is it textbook prices rather than the prices you normally pay for a book in the shops?)noWas the book about how to teach religion? yope How to teach about religion? yope about whether teaching religion to children is acceptable?yope

So is it aimed at students who are going to be RE teachers in schools? At teachers who are already RE teachers in schools? At people who teach religion in universities? (Do you call it RE? It stands for Religious Education, if not) Does the intended title have anything to do with teaching RE to children? With giving children religious instruction? Is it aimed at people who will be teaching in faith schools? In state schools? Does the title imply something about what should be taught to children in schools? About how something should be taught?

Posted on Thursday, November 08, 2007 - 11:19 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) So is it aimed at students who are going to be RE teachers in schools?yes At teachers who are already RE teachers in schools? yes At people who teach religion in universities? yes (Do you call it RE? I'm not sure It stands for Religious Education, if not) Does the intended title have anything to do with teaching RE to children? yes With giving children religious instruction? yes Is it aimed at people who will be teaching in faith schools? yes In state schools? yesDoes the title imply something about what should be taught to children in schools? no About how something should be taught? noBentarm (Bentarm) New member Username: Bentarm

Does the book have some general title like "teaching religion in schools"? Is it obvious from the (intended) title that it's aimed at people who will be teaching religion? Might an atheist teacher still get something useful out of reading the book? Might a teacher who taught only atheist students get something useful out of reading the book? Might someone who was going to teach in a Sunday school read this book?

Posted on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 - 2:35 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Does the book have some general title like "teaching religion in schools"? It's a general title but not that one Is it obvious from the (intended) title that it's aimed at people who will be teaching religion? yope Might an atheist teacher still get something useful out of reading the book? noishMight a teacher who taught only atheist students get something useful out of reading the book? yesMight someone who was going to teach in a Sunday school read this book? yes

Is the book about teaching children about religion? About teaching children religion as if it were fact? Might a teacher who was going to teach a subject other than religious education benefit from reading this book? a teacher who was going to teach in a nursery school? primary school? secondary school? college? university? evening classes?

Posted on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - 12:21 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Is the book about teaching children about religion? yeswishAbout teaching children religion as if it were fact? yesishMight a teacher who was going to teach a subject other than religious education benefit from reading this book?not in a praxcticval way--anyone might benefit intellectually by learning anything a teacher who was going to teach in a nursery school?yes primary school? yes secondary school? yescollege? yes university? yes evening classes? yes

Is it about how a teacher's own religion interacts with their role as a teacher? About maintaining objectivity when teaching about religion? Would you agree with the content of the essays in the book? Is it likely that any of the book's contributors were atheists? Could an atheist make a relevant contribution to a book with the (intended) title)?

Posted on Sunday, November 18, 2007 - 2:59 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Is it about how a teacher's own religion interacts with their role as a teacher? yesishAbout maintaining objectivity when teaching about religion? noWould you agree with the content of the essays in the book? sure--some of it is just empirical sociologyIs it likely that any of the book's contributors were atheists? no Could an atheist make a relevant contribution to a book with the (intended) title? yes

Does it have to do with teachers of a particular religion? Christian? Islam? Jewish? Catholic? Other? Teaching students of a particular religion? Christian? Islam? Jewish? Catholic? Other? Does it have to do with the most effective teaching? The most effective learning? Detriment to either?

The two word title... it's not as simple as "The Bible" or "The Koran" or "The Torah" is it?

Posted on Monday, November 19, 2007 - 7:00 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Does it have to do with teachers of a particular religion? no Christian? Islam? Jewish? Catholic? All these were represented Other? Teaching students of a particular religion? Christian? Islam? Jewish? Catholic? All these were represented Other? Does it have to do with the most effective teaching? yesishThe most effective learning? yesish Detriment to either? yope

The two word title... it's not as simple as "The Bible" or "The Koran" or "The Torah" is it? No., & it's not a 2-word title. Itr's a 4-word title with a 2-word ambiguous phrase

Is the title insulting? Condescending? Is the information presented in the fashion of "The Bell Curve" or similar? (Nobody took that book seriously because it presented historical test data demonstrating that blacks don't perform as well on standardized tests - it was one of hundreds of graphs and data being displayed).

Does the title involve teaching faith? Teaching the Faithless? Something about converting? Does it teach how people can convert others to another religion by accident? Intentionally? Does it teach people how they shouldn't convert others? Does the title imply the opposite? I.e. Conversion for Dummies, Conversion for the faithless?

Does the four word title include small/transition words? Like... for? the? of? by? on? if? be? to? a? an? is? Does the title include an adjective? Does the title contain a noun? a verb?

Is the title insulting?no Condescending? no Is the information presented in the fashion of "The Bell Curve" or similar? no(Nobody took that book seriously because it presented historical test data demonstrating that blacks don't perform as well on standardized tests - it was one of hundreds of graphs and data being displayed). Unfortyunately, plenty of people--not including me--DID take that book seriously

Does the title involve teaching faith? yesish Teaching the Faithless? not specifically Something about converting? dittoDoes it teach how people can convert others to another religion by accident? no Intentionally? noish Does it teach people how they shouldn't convert others? noish Does the title imply the opposite? I.e. Conversion for Dummies, Conversion for the faithless? no

Does the four word title include small/transition words? Like... for? the? of? by? on? if? be? to? a? an? is? Does the title include an adjective?

Posted on Friday, December 07, 2007 - 2:57 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) It must be "Passing on the Faith", right? Yes!!!!! Thanks for solving it, Bentarm, & thanks also to everyone for sticking with it. Please see my new puzzle at the bottom of the page. I'll be online for several hours.